1700 Mile Round Trip

[ExDusterRacer]

We just returned from a 1700 mile round trip from our home out to the left
coast and back for our biannual visit to my father. Our 2009 Mazda5 with 40K
miles has developed two irritating problems. I wonder if anyone else has
experienced similar difficulties?

While in Phoenix, where the outside temperature was 109 deg. F., we parked
the Mazda in the sun for a few minutes. When we came back the inside was
quite hot. The CD player didn't work. The FM radio worked OK, but the CD
didn't. After driving for about an hour with the A/C on, the CD started
working again.

Problem two is that we seem to have a wheel bearing that is going out. At 20
miles per hour the noise and vibration felt through the steering wheel is quite
noticeable. Above 20 MPH, the vibration is not discernible, but the "singing" is
quite apparent. It sounds something like tire noise. Experience in other
vehicles leads me to believe it is bearing failure.

I wonder if these are common Mazda 5 problems?

I have already taken the car to the dealer where I purchased it. The service
writer said they are so busy they can't get to it until the week after next.
So, I'll call the dealer in El Paso and see if they are as busy.

 

[thaxman]

I think Phx is about the only place in the world where you will see little old ladies driving around wearing oven mitts. Unless your 5 is white, seafoam or silver, AND you cracked the windows, I bet the inside hid 135 degrees. Its so close to hell up there, that I heard that if you dig down 6 feet, you can hear the screaming.

 

[Robotazky]

Jack the noisy wheel up, grab both sides of the tire at the same time, and try to move it back and forth without the wheel turning. If you can feel or hear in clunking, then you may have bad bearings. It's hard to tell the difference between noisy tires and bearings now because the tires have so much plastic in them. I would also jack one side up, rotate the tires, and see if the noise moves with the wheel/tire.

 

[kleptomaniak]

check the obvious first, like a nail in a tire or uneven treadwear. If your treads are on the lower side, and you have something metal impailed in a tire, then that could be source of constant noise too. My experience with worn out bearings is that the noise is constant no matter what speed, and gets progressively worse as you drive on. I think traveling that much distance would make the noise increase as you pile up the miles.

 

[jimp]

a nail or something similar in the tire will "click, click, click" similar to a rock, with each rotation of the tire, but the nail/screw head should have worn off in a 1700 mile trip IMO. A bad bearing will growl louder as speed increases in most cases. If your tires are worn, they could sound like a bearing, you could rotate the tires around and see if the sound moves around the car.

 

[skyhawk]

At one time, my mazda5 had a clicking sound when I turn. Noise disappeared after I torqued the wheels lug nuts to specs. I did not expect it to be that sensitive for this car.

It May not be related to your problem.. but very easy to check anyway.

 

[volvovod]

I would not necessary worry too much about the CD player not working right away, quite opposite - I'd feel happy that the radio still worked. Most of the electronics is spec'd up to 60 (140 F) to 75 (167 F) degrees C and, I agree with Thaxman, the temperature inside a parked car in Arizona could easily have reached that level.

 

[ExDusterRacer]

The "Rest of the Story"

Well, I finally was able to take the the car into the dealership in Las Cruces.

Problem one was a pulsing of the brake peddle when decelerating through
60 miles per hour. They said the front rotors were warped. A simple resurfacing
took car of it. They charged $69 for that. I don't know why/how the rotors
were warped.

They said the vibration/singing was due to the tires being completely worn
out. So I went to my favorite tire dealer in El Paso and purchased a set of
Toyo tires. With taxes, balance, road hazard, and all other fees it came to
just over $600. When I asked why the tires were bad at only 40K miles, they
said "hi-performance" tires don't last very long! Also, they said the car was in
dire need of a wheel alignment, for which they charged me $59.

I didn't realize these are "Hi-performance" tires! On a car with a 2.3L engine?

So for just over $730 I'm good for another 40K miles.

The OAT around here is under 100F most of the time, so the radio/CD player
is working fine. I'll have to wait until it malfunctions so I can get it fixed.

Now if I can just find a way to double the horsepower output of that little
engine!

 

[doctorz]

we're about to take our 5 on a 3000 mile trip. I had the oil changed today and they incidentally found motor mount #3 was leaking. Between replacing the motor mount, and having the tires rotated and balanced, ALL the vibration through the steering wheel, between idle and at all speeds, is gone. I'd forgotten what the car used to feel like. Something to consider. Bummer that our warranty ran out three months ago.

We'd replaced our tires with Michelin Pilot Exaltos two years ago, so that is not an issue. We have some pulsing when braking hard at highway speeds. Nothing at low speeds or when braking lightly at high speeds. I'm fairly certain there's a tiny amount of rotor warping but the car's been this way for a while and it's so intermittent that I haven't bothered fixing it.

 

[doctorz]

we're about to take our 5 on a 3000 mile trip. I had the oil changed today and they incidentally found motor mount #3 was leaking. Between replacing the motor mount, and having the tires rotated and balanced, ALL the vibration through the steering wheel, between idle and at all speeds, is gone. I'd forgotten what the car used to feel like. Something to consider. Bummer that our warranty ran out three months ago.

We'd replaced our tires with Michelin Pilot Exaltos two years ago, so that is not an issue. We have some pulsing when braking hard at highway speeds. Nothing at low speeds or when braking lightly at high speeds. I'm fairly certain there's a tiny amount of rotor warping but the car's been this way for a while and it's so intermittent that I haven't bothered fixing it.

 

[el_Don]

Well, I finally was able to take the the car into the dealership in Las Cruces.

Problem one was a pulsing of the brake peddle when decelerating through
60 miles per hour. They said the front rotors were warped. A simple resurfacing
took car of it. They charged $69 for that. I don't know why/how the rotors
were warped.

They said the vibration/singing was due to the tires being completely worn
out. So I went to my favorite tire dealer in El Paso and purchased a set of
Toyo tires. With taxes, balance, road hazard, and all other fees it came to
just over $600. When I asked why the tires were bad at only 40K miles, they
said "hi-performance" tires don't last very long! Also, they said the car was in
dire need of a wheel alignment, for which they charged me $59.

I didn't realize these are "Hi-performance" tires! On a car with a 2.3L engine?

So for just over $730 I'm good for another 40K miles.

The OAT around here is under 100F most of the time, so the radio/CD player
is working fine. I'll have to wait until it malfunctions so I can get it fixed.

Now if I can just find a way to double the horsepower output of that little
engine!

You may want to look into H rated tires that will last you longer. I love the V rated tires that you probably have right now but they wear out really quick. I've gone through 4 sets of tires in 4 years on my 5th after I discovered that I could put on lower rated tires (just with normal city driving).